"Another estimate is that made by Mr. Hugh F. Fox, of the U.S. Brewers' Association. According to him, the hop crop of 1926 was 29,428,000 Ibs., to which must be added' an importation into the country of 471,178 Ibs—a total, of '29899,173 Ibs: The export from the United States up to August of 1927 was ti early 13) million Ibs., Teaving about 161 million " Ibs. of hops for the manufacturers of near-beer, which it is known did not absorb more than 34 million Ibs, thas leaving something like 18: mil-ion. Jbs, of hops to be aceount-"for. "Hop crop merchants declare that crops are -"consumed in.. current' seasons,' ant. Bheres is Hot* the. slightest" doubt that much of this commodity goes into the making of home-brews. Mr. Fox believes thit Americans brew in their homes about 613 mil-Vion gallons of beer annually, but malt syrup men pooh-pooh such low estimate, and the Brewery Workers' Union calculates that 840 million gallons is the lowest annual brew, Upon Mr. Fox's estimate, however, the following costs have been arrived at: For malt and hops, $85 million annually; sugar, 36 mil-Vion: yeast, 3 million: cork' caps, 6 million; "rubber tubing, 1.8 million gauge, 1.6 million; crocks, bottles, strainers, ete., 3 million—or a round total of $136,300,000. Add to this amount an expenditure of $120 mil. lion for, the 100,000,000-gallon manufacture of near-beer, and found that the United States pends over §250,000,000 a year on heer alone, Near-beer, it may be remarked, has dropped to about one-third of its manufacture in 21, a fact due, so the brewers claim, to the competition of the home' cellars and the outlaw alley brewery. proof whisky, which reduces to 20 gallons of 90-proof. The trade in om sugar, which Prohibition offi cials assert is used chiefly in the making of whisky, grew 400 per cent. between 1921 and 1926—"and the head of the great corporation which is the largest manufacturer of corn sugar," remarks one report, "is a prominent Dry and a generous contributor to the cause."
Another industry greatly thrive under the mis of Prohibition that of industrial alcohol.: Its production has been trebled since 1 There was an increase of some 35, 000,000 gallons from 1925 to 1926. Its diversion to illegal purposes comes from the specially denatured alcohol, which amounts to about 90 million gallons a year, at least 60 million gallons of Which is used for the dilution of imported whiskies, and to make strong alcoholic drinks by the addition of essences which readily produce Scotch, rye, Bene-peach and cherry brandies, fand s0 forth. Non-alcoholic cocktails—Bronx, Manhattan and Martini, which are manufactured on a. Large scale and sold legitimately, because the alcoholic content is not Aspects of Home Wine Making But, as a home-brew, beer is ey no means as popular as wine. Mr. Flynn claims, and this writer's observation in many parts of "the country endorses the view, that "America is growing faster as a wine-drinking country than any other in the world." For example, in 1919 (the year that Prohibition became law) California shipped 20,000 tons of juice grapes; Inst year she shipped over 800,000 for for juice purposes, against 43,000 tons of table grapes. Further, California ships a large amount of juice (a new and very profitable industry). Shipped in refuges tion, it is saved from fermentation passing from ler to buyer, in sold all over the country, ahd, much as [000 barrels of this recently went to New, York..on a single trip. Many Sther states, above one half of one per: cent—fare sold all ter the country. By jing denatured alcohol a. drinkable cocktail is supplied.
So it can convincingly be shown that, apart from the bootlegging business, the home-brew industry in beers, wines and spirits is assuming increasing importance. It is a danger that no other country would be Inclined to assume, if the facts were more-widely known. But this particular alarming aspect of Prohibition'is heard of but slightly outside of the United States.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.